detinue

D2E1T1I1N1U1E1

noun

A person or thing detained; a detainee.

OriginMiddle English detenue ← Old French detenue →
Scrabble 8
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Meanings

noundetinue (plural detinues)

plural detinues

  1. A person or thing detained; a detainee.
  2. lawA legal action to reclaim goods wrongfully detained.

Origin

  1. Old Frenchdetenue
  2. Middle Englishdetenue
  3. Englishdetinue

From late Middle English detenue, from Old French detenue, feminine singular past participle of detenir (“to detain”). See detain.

More words from Middle English, Old French

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

deunite
Cite this entry
APA

detinue. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detinue

MLA

“detinue.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detinue. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “detinue,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/detinue.

Source: detinue on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.